One of TV’s longest-running dramas has finally (and officially) come to an end: Katherine Heigl confirms in this week’s exclusive Entertainment Weekly cover story — penned by yours truly! — that she is leaving Grey’s Anatomy.

“I am done,” declares Heigl. “We just finalized our agreement. Everyone had been working really hard to find an amicable and gracious way of letting go and moving on. It’s sad but it’s what I wanted.”

The 31-year-old actress reveals that it was family issues, not her burgeoning film career, that prompted her to approach series creator Shonda Rhimes and ask to be let out of her contract 18 months early. “I started a family and it changed everything for me,” says Heigl, who took a three-month family leave from Grey’s this season to bond with her newly-adopted daughter, Naleigh. “It changed my desire to work full-time.”

Although she was scheduled to appear in this season’s final five episodes, that is no longer happening. As a result, the Jan. 21 episode was her last as Izzie. “I know I’m disappointing the fans,” she says. “I just had to make a choice. I hope I made the right one.”

In response, ABC Studios issued the following statement exclusively to EW: “By mutual agreement, Katherine Heigl has ended her successful run as Dr. Isobel Stevens. The studio wishes her well. Everyone at Grey’s Anatomy is now focused on delivering a shocking season finale and a great show for seasons to come.”

The wide-ranging and candid Q&A, during which Heigl comes clean about every aspect of her rocky six-year tenure — including the fights (Isaiahgate), the feuds (Emmygate), the controversies (Gizzie), and the mistakes she made along the way (17-hour daygate) — hits newsstands on Friday. Look for additional excerpts (as well as details on the afternoon I spent last week in, ahem, Heigl’s home) tomorrow morning right here.

In the meantime, share your thoughts on Heigl’s departure below. And congratulate me on my second EW cover story!

Can we say “typecast.” Don’t worry, she’ll be replaced in a few years with someone younger and prettier. If she continues taking fluff roles, she’ll never be taken seriously in Hollywood or with viewers. Her line in Knocked Up (sure, the line isn’t her fault, but the delivery was) where she doesn’t know what Back To The Future is has always bugged me. I’ve hated her since then.

MojoMom

Wed 03/24/10 11:03 AM

Congrats to Ausiello on his cover story, but I don’t miss Izzie at all and I am so glad they are not dragging her back for a prolonged goodbye. Izzie left Alex, she’s outta here. The show has been surprisingly good without her.

Minnie

Wed 03/24/10 11:12 AM

I know what you mean Laura. I NEVER understand why actors think it’s wise to leave hit TV shows??? There was the guy who left MASH after the 1st season, and never heard of again. Caruso leaving NYPD Blue (but redeemed himself with CSI Miami.) There are more but I can’t think of them. Anyway, I’ve always wondered about it. Having a steady job (and paycheck) is an actor’s dream, I would have thought.

Alissa

Wed 03/24/10 11:30 AM

@Erik…that wasn’t her that didn’t know what Back to the Future was. unless there was the exact same joke used in an episode of The Office, where Michael attempted to pick up some blonde young chick in a bar.

gwen

Wed 03/24/10 11:32 AM

Minnie, I think your facts are off about MASH. You’re thinking of either McClean Stevenson, Larry Linville, or Wayne Rogers. But none of them left after one season, they all stayed at least five seasons. Wayne Rogers had another hit series, and got extremely wealthy in real estate. Larry Linville had health problems and didn’t live much longer. McClean Stevenson is probably who you were thinking of, since his career never went anywhere after he left. But he still did five seasons of the show.

Erik

Wed 03/24/10 11:46 AM

@Alissa

Yeah, that joke was used in Knocked Up when Paul Rudd, Seth Rogan, Leslie Mann and Heigl were at dinner. The conversation got to Back To The Future, to with Mann said, “Why don’t you two go back in time and F- each other.” To which Rogan said, “Who needs a time machine?” Then Rudd said “Where we’re going, we don’t need roads.” The point is that Heigl’s character had no idea who Doc Brown was. That’s just dumb.

Flaming Moe

Wed 03/24/10 11:55 AM

@Gwen I think tour facts are off about Larry Linville. He left MASH in ’78 and worked consistently until his death in 2000. Just sayin’

levelheaded

Wed 03/24/10 12:19 PM

@minnie – maybe having a steady paycheck is an actor’s dream, but her dreams changed due to a baby. I don’t think she’s hurting for money and its important for her to be with her new child, that makes sense to me.

I think David Caruso left for less altruistic reasons, which caused more of a backlash.

Alan

Wed 03/24/10 12:21 PM

Why are you people so angry and bitter? Why should someone stay on a show they don’t want to be on anymore? Would YOU want to be forced to work at a job you no longer enjoyed doing? Get over it.

Joe

Wed 03/24/10 12:28 PM

Tara.. if you look, overall, except one, her movies did flop….

Bryan

Wed 03/24/10 12:29 PM

Well, I don’t think she’s crap. But, I do believe she could do much better. Her part on Grey’s has always been horrible. I’m glad it’s over. Now, let’s get my boy Alex involved with a GOOD WOMAN…

Molly

Wed 03/24/10 12:37 PM

Wow, how did she become so hated so quickly?

MartinSA

Wed 03/24/10 12:46 PM

Linville’s leaving of MASH was actually quite understandable. From my understanding, Linville was the complete opposite of Frank Burns and it just started to get to the guy playing such a douche all that time.

Neil

Wed 03/24/10 1:04 PM

I’ll miss her, she gave great performances with some dire material (the middle of season five).
@Joe – her movies clearly didn’t tank. Look at the budgets for Knocked Up, 27 Dresses, and The Ugly Truth – the amount of money they made show a pretty huge profit.

jules

Wed 03/24/10 1:06 PM

@Tara
Anyone could have played those roles. Agree with Erik that she’s typecast. Knocked Up was good because of Seth Rogen, Paul Rudd, Jonah Hill, etc. Katherine’s role could have been played by anyone and the movie still would have been successful. In any event, sad to see Izzie go but not sad to see Katherine go.

hey alan

Wed 03/24/10 1:53 PM

it’s called a contract. she should honor it. i’m sure everyone wants off that show.

Amy

Wed 03/24/10 2:27 PM

@Alan, yeah it’s called the military and working for stupid people.

alex

Wed 03/24/10 5:06 PM

While I’m not a fan of Heigl, is it smart to hate someone for playing their character when their character doesn’t know that? It’s not her fault, they made the character that way.

Allison M

Thu 03/25/10 4:10 AM

She’s really not though. Her Cancer Izzie scenes were some of the season’s best.

sally1018

Thu 03/25/10 4:15 PM

No she’s not.

Leah

Thu 03/25/10 10:57 PM

I agree with Tara; I enjoyed her acting. I thought she played the humour and drama of GA well.

You’d be lucky if that obnoxious skank looked at you for more than 2 seconds without gagging.

dorian

Wed 03/24/10 1:03 PM

@coyote
I understand your response considering this is the interweb and I took the time to post a comment. But definitely not the least bit accurate fwiw. On a physical scale we play in the same league, but her public personality would send her down to the minors for me. Thanks.

Niix Starkyller

Wed 03/24/10 2:52 PM

Dorian, how are things in your glass house?

flower

Thu 03/25/10 1:41 PM

Dorian,
Tone down! Why so much hate? Coyote just responded to you in kind. Don’t judge. Your comments say more about you.

I guess I’m with you on this, because she seemed so ungrateful and extremely ungracious. She dug her own grave. And yest, I do think the David Caruso comparison is accurate. A lot of people forget this is not her first television series, and I’m putting my money on it not being the last. And way to go, Aus! Congrats! I’ll read anything you’ve written, and I’m truly excited it’s a cover story this week!

GGG

Wed 03/24/10 1:52 PM

I agree! She wanted out of her contract WAY before she had a kid… Back when she become super popular from “Knocked Up.” She should at least be honest about it…

Janell

Wed 03/24/10 2:53 PM

She will be a big movie star as long as she does not do another “27 Dresses” or “The Ugly Truth”. She is a good actress, but her ego is a turnoff.

Grey’s is still good w/o her. The whole Izzie and dead Denny episodes sucked.

stan

Wed 03/24/10 11:43 AM

How can I get an alternate cover for this issue? ‘Cause seeing her face-especially with this pose-kind of makes me hurl.

LOL!! That;s hilarious…and I too hate her pose. She’s trying to look like mother Theresa, like she’s innocent and/or praying for forgiveness…no one cares that Izzie isn’t on grey’s anymore. Don’t let the door hit ya where the good lord split ya.

tvfan

Wed 03/24/10 12:05 PM

I love her and think that Izzie was always a crappy character and still she made me like her. I wish her the best on her film career. Let’s compare the gross for ‘The Ugly Truth’ to that of ‘The Bounty Hunter’ and see who can survive opposite the awful Gerard Butler.

Yeah, she’s always had a piss poor attitude. Very ungrateful person. Hope she enjoys the next decade of trying to make it in the movies, the studios deciding she doesn’t have it to be a box office draw and then working for years on stage, hoping to get a tv show to revive her career.

Unfortunately some stupid studio has already signed her to play the part of a loveable bounty hunter character named Stephanie Plum, based on the books by Janet Evanovich. I’ve read every book in the series and there couldn’t be a WORSE choice than Heigl to play the part. It hasn’t even begun filming but with her in the lead, I’m giving an F.

Michelle

Wed 03/24/10 4:15 PM

OH I will be so dissapointed if she plays Plum. I love the books, but with her in the lead, I will not go to see the movie. She is so not the right fit.

And didn’t they say the same thing about Tom Cruise as Lestat in Interview? And Robert Patterson for Twilight? Just saying ppl, don’t knock it down until you see her preformance.

terry

Wed 03/24/10 8:30 PM

If she doesn’t work as Plum, they can always replace her like the do for the new James Bond movies.

CJ

Wed 03/24/10 11:37 PM

I think that if a poll was taken, the majority of Evanovich/Plum fans would say non, no, no to Heigl as Stephanie Plum. The only actress today that truly fits that role is Lauren Graham. Plus, re Heigl wanting to spend more time with her daughter – what a slap in the face of millions of Moms who would love the same but do right and honor work contracts.

Melissa

Thu 03/25/10 2:13 AM

I also heard that she has signed on to play Stephanie Plum and am HIGHLY disappointed in the studio for hiring her. They obviously have NOT read the Stephanie Plum series. First of all, Stephanie is short, Italian, brunette, and has an accent (often brought up in the novels) — KH is NONE of these things. I don’t know about Lauren Graham playing her…because I honestly haven’t seen anything Lauren Graham has been in…but at least she looks the part. I would also throw Sandra Bullock into the mix — I know, people may be getting tired of her but she is a good actress and thanks to Miss Congenility — she can do an excellent Bronx accent. I just…there has got to be a way to stop KH from being Stephanie Plum. I WILL not see the movie if if she actually is playing Stephanie Plum. That is a promise and I keep my promises. I love the Plum novels way too much to see them destroyed…and if KH is the star, she will destroy the movie. No, I am not stating KH is a bad actress (she was good in “Knocked Up” — but she didn’t make the movie) — I did enjoy Izzy the first couple of seasons on GA…then she got an attitude (KH, not Izzy) so the writers’ obviously gave her bad storylines. I mean, that is what I would do if I heard her bad mouthing my writing abilities on a HIT show she was starring in. I would purposely ruin her character. As I have said numerous times before, the worst thing about this, is they should have killed Izzy instead of George. The writers were handed on a silver platter a beautiful storyline for George when he was in that accident and they failed to see it. Izzy had incurable cancer…she was going to die sooner or later anyway…why not kill her sooner?

Wandergirl

Fri 03/26/10 9:28 PM

Seriously? I’ve heard great things about the Plum series, but since Heigl makes we want to hurl, I won’t be seeing the movie.

@timbit_queen:
I’m a fan of Ton Cruise, but he wasn’t right for Lestat, and I can barely watch the Twilight movies b/c Pattinson is so horrible, even though the Twilight books are some of my faves. If those are the two best examples, that doesn’t say much for the Plum movie. I’ll be spending my movie ticket money on the books.

Rashad

Wed 03/24/10 1:10 PM

YES!!!! I am VERY HAPPY that she’s leaving. Izy has been very ANNOYING this season. The show has been GREAT without her and will continue to be GREAT without her.

I guess you and I are watching a different show. I think the show has suffered greatly from the void that the Izzy/George friendship left. The show hasn’t been good since they tried “Gizzie” 10 minutes after Denny died and then put her with Alex 5 min after she and George didn’t work out. Oh and making Callie (a WELL established STRAIGHT character) a lesbian overnight didn’t work either. With Kath leaving, I’m done with the show.

professor farnsworth

Thu 03/25/10 8:38 PM

George and Izzie’s friendship did nothing for me. It was ok. It was nice. But eh.

rush

Wed 03/24/10 1:20 PM

being a die hard ER fan i never actually watched grey’s anatomy, but hearing this new makes me really realy happy, cuz i HATE heigl!!!
i hope for the shows sake that they KILL off izzy so that there is no way for her to come back(in case heigl figures out she cant do any think but fourth rate rom-coms)unless alex developes a sympathy toumor and starts dreaming about her(the way izzy did about denny)

For Real!!! You know, we all know she’s wanted out of the show ever since Knocked up did so well. I always hated the Izzy on GA. I tried to give KH the benefit of the doubt since it is a role she’s playing. I watched her movies and really can’t stand KH. She plays the same person on them and am glad she’s left the show. She should at least show some class and admit why she’s really leaving instead of trying to feed us her lines of rubbish

No, but she is disappointing her fans. She owes it to the fans that help make her career successful, some closure on Grey’s. This is not the first time she has done this to her loyal audience and it is obvious that she can be selfish and self serving. Fans can repay that behavior and boycott her films. Fans made her and fans can unmake her. Box office dollars speak louder than any complaints.

Sometimes becoming a parent makes you rethink things and you do become selfish. This is not always a bad thing. Let’s face it, her fluff job on Grey’s (which sucks now anyway) is nothing in comparison to being a good mother. I hope she does stay off the big screen and focus on parenting. She’s a very mediocre actress, IMO, and we have enough of those.

Jen

Wed 03/24/10 12:32 PM

There are a lot of non-disappointed fans. Nay, thrilled fans!!

Irene

Wed 03/24/10 12:57 PM

Agree with you, Dylan, that she’s certainly mediocre at best. Her looks got her as far as she has. I hate to be cynical, but I agree with some other posts that she’s using the excuse of starting a family to get out of her contract — I’m sure with visions of a great movie career. We’ll see how far she gets. Her movies, IMO, are all lousy, fluff pieces….worthy of her acting ability. Let’s hope she decides to retire and raise her daughter. Good riddance!!

jules

Wed 03/24/10 1:10 PM

Dylan…not gonna happen. She can claim it was family all she wants. She wanted to leave because of movies. It goes back several years, possibly before she was married but definitely before she adopted.

Marc

Wed 03/24/10 2:22 PM

Actually many of her fans – me included have hoped she could leave for ages. Her character was mauled and destroyed by poor writing and they show is in decline. We WANTED to see her out and doing movies.

Salvage her career. You are hilarious. Grey’s ratings are tanking and Heigl has just had 3 box office smashes and is now the world third highest paid female movie star earning $24 million for two movies in 2009. Yeah..I wish my career needed salvaging that badly.

LOL I was gonna say the same thing…3 hit films in a row, with two of them being sold with her name above the title hardly sounds like a career in need of salvaging. Now she not only has a new Mr. And Mrs. Smith type romantic actioner with Ashton Kutchner (Killers) in the can, but a film that is actually getting decent buzz about her acting (Life As We Know It) Yeah, her career is perfectly fine.

Katie G

Wed 03/24/10 10:05 AM

can the ugly truth really be called a ‘box office smash’?

m.

Wed 03/24/10 10:09 AM

according to imdb she had only 1 movie in 2009…. Plus all of them were rom com’s…

Dayva

Wed 03/24/10 10:16 AM

can ANY of her movies really be considered a “box office smash?!” i really don’t think so. The Ugly Truth wasn’t all that great, and honestly, the ONLY movie i like her in was Knocked Up…. and that was mostly because of Seth Rogen, Jonah Hill and the other MALE characters!

honestly, i’m glad with her leaving Grey’s Anatomy! the show is good w/o her because her character just had so many retarded issues. she was just boring!

Shey

Wed 03/24/10 10:22 AM

Grey’s ratings are lower than they used to be but the show usually still makes the top 10. I’d call that a successful show.

cindy

Wed 03/24/10 10:31 AM

With that attitude she has, I give her movie career 5 years before it crashes and burns.

Tommy

Wed 03/24/10 10:40 AM

True, her only film that could be called a smash is KNOCKED UP, and that was more about Judd Apatow and the then nascent starpower of Seth Rogen, who ironically is now considered a lesser box office draw than Heigl.

What Heigle had was two consecutive small-budget (for mainstream Hollywood) rom coms that actually opened solidly using her name above the title. 27 Dresses, which was sold entirely on her name and image, opened to 20 million plus, grossed 160 million on a 30 million budget, while THE UGLY TRUTH opened to 27 million and grossed 205 million, on a 38 million budget. What Heigl has proven is that she can open a film, and that she has a sizeable fanbase that will actually follow her on the big screen, as opposed to David Caruso, who had two film flops in a row after leavinf NYPD BLUE: Kiss Of Death, and Jade..

Debra Messing had movie roles while Will & Grace was on, now: Nothing. That’s what’s going to happen with Hiegl. No TV-No Movies. Jennifer Aniston and Michael J Fox made movies after their TV shows were off the air, but they actually can act. I’m glad Heigl is off GA; hated the Izzie character.

Dr. Awesome

Wed 03/24/10 11:26 AM

Her movies are god awful. Frankly, I haven’t missed her on Greys.

Andy

Wed 03/24/10 11:33 AM

M – not released. The movies she filmed in 2009 – Killers and Life As We Know It. Both are released in 2010.

Karl

Wed 03/24/10 11:37 AM

Once she’s off of Grey’s, will anyone really care what she does on the big screen? I think her co-stars in her “hit” movies had just as much to do with their box office draw as she did.

TJ

Wed 03/24/10 12:06 PM

Heigl is the new Ashley Judd… she keeps making the same movie over and over again. Playing it safe and never showing any range.

GR

Wed 03/24/10 12:37 PM

The Ugly Truth made over 200 million worldwide, so yeah, kind of a smash for non-action film.

Mac

Thu 03/25/10 12:27 AM

Third highest paid actress? Let see… there’s Bullock, Streep, and Jolie. Heigl’s at best fourth. I would also bet that if Reese Witherspoon, Julia Roberts, and Rachel McAdams decided to go full throttle Movie Star, they wipe the floor with the ho-hum Heigl.

professor farnsworth

Thu 03/25/10 8:41 PM

She hasn’t had any box office smashes. She’s hardly the highest paid actress in Hollywood. Far from it.

h

Wed 03/24/10 11:18 AM

So you’re not a Heigl fan, but she’s had hit movies. Some people must like her. I personally don’t like HER, but I think she’s a terrific actress and she makes her material better than it started out.

It sounds like it WILL be new and interesting. Good job Aus. I actually think it’s refreshing that she’s not a Hollywood machine robot. How many times have we all put our foot in our mouth while trying to be funny or when we’re frustrated. She’s more real to me than most actresses. I liked Izzie, but lately they weren’t making it work, so it’s probably better that this is over. And, even if they do have a kid-friendly set, the other cast members don’t have a special needs child. Also, a movie schedule IS easier than a 1-hour drama TV schedule.

Me too! Seriously, I thought the front page of EW.com had synched the photos and stories wrong.

Karl

Wed 03/24/10 11:39 AM

If Tina Fey needs a stunt double in a few years, at least KH will have something to fall back upon if her movie career fizzles.

john t.

Wed 03/24/10 12:25 PM

haha same here!

Coyote

Wed 03/24/10 1:06 PM

Love Tina Fey but she’d never look this good.

Chris

Fri 03/26/10 9:39 AM

I also thought it was Liz Lemon. “One time I laughed at a blind guy eating spaghetti! Sometimes I pee in the shower if I’m really tired! I saw my grandparents making love once and I didn’t leave right away!”

Castle Rocks

Wed 03/24/10 4:23 PM

I think she looks real pretty as a brunette. But that angelic pose looks totally fake and sacastic. Probably the point, but given her rep it rubs me the wrong way. Oh well. I hope she has fun with her hubby and baby. I’ll check out her movie with Ashton when it comes out on DVD.

Well of course CONGRATS to you! As for disappointing the fans – please the fans would love to see her die in a painful way decapitation would be nice. She disappointed fans by thinking and acting like she was better than she was. A few hit movies does not an actress make, flukes happen. She’ll not have a long successful career unlike her talented co-stars. I actually avoid watching her movies and if she falls of the face of the earth – I won’t notice. Just glad that Grey’s & the rest of us are free of her diva-drama. I predict her next big roll will be divorce once her husband realizes he is tired of her diva-behavior too.

Actually she is about the most down to earth and not diva celeb you could ever meet so I think it unlikely. For the record none of her co-stars have careers outside of Grey’s and Katherine has already been making movies and shows for 20 years.

None of her costars? Patrick Dempsey has made movies (of the same quality of most of hers) for years now.

Paige

Wed 03/24/10 10:03 AM

Er what about Patrick Dempsey?

Jessica

Wed 03/24/10 10:05 AM

Patrick Dempsey has four movies in production right now to Heigl’s five movies in production. Sooo sounds like she’s not the only one who has a career outside of Grey’s. For the record.

Missy

Wed 03/24/10 10:05 AM

Patrick Dempsey has been around for quite some time and has had a few movies the last several years as well… Sweet Home Alabama, Enchanted, Made of Honor…

Tommy

Wed 03/24/10 10:07 AM

Patric Dempsey has not had any hit films that drew people on his name alone. (ENCHANTED was all about AMY ADAMS)

The only GA star that has an actual film career, with two hit movies that used her name above the title, is Heigl

Hope

Wed 03/24/10 10:20 AM

In addition to Patrick Dempsey, Kevin McKidd starred in the HBO series ROME, had his own series Journeyman (which was only canceled because of the writer’s strike), has made many films (most recently PERCY JACKSON) and has more films planned. Sandra Oh has won awards for her work outside of Grey’s, has appeared in other tv series and in films as well (remember SIDEWAYS)? I don’t follow Chandra Wilson’s work closely, but she has also done wonderful work outside of Grey’s. And Sara Rameriz is a Tony award winner. To say that KH is the only one with a career outside of Grey’s is simply incorrect. Support her if you want to, but you don’t need to trash the rest of the cast to do that!

Sarah

Wed 03/24/10 10:37 AM

Obviously you’ve never dealt with this woman in a business setting before. I’ve had to deal with her a number of times over the years and she’s one of the most dreadful celebrities I’ve ever met.

Mike

Wed 03/24/10 11:10 AM

Patrick Dempsey had Loverboy of which he was the star in the 1980s

h

Wed 03/24/10 11:19 AM

Hope, Journeyman was NOT canned because of the writers’ strike. It ended because the ratings stank. I liked the show and watched every episode, but stop spreading false information!

Marc

Wed 03/24/10 2:26 PM

No it is not accurate that she is the only one with a career outside Grey’s. But it is all relative. She is the only A list movie star outside of Grey’s. Sure the others have steady projects but none are ever going to be paid the $12 million she received for her last two movies as the lead actress.

professor farnsworth

Thu 03/25/10 8:45 PM

@Marc, she is not A list.

Rose Tyler

Wed 03/24/10 9:45 AM

Great covershot! Congrats Ausiello! It looks like a very interesting read. I’ll be looking forward to finding it in my mailbox.

Until she takes the next movie role that puts her on location for 6-7 weeks straight with long hour days. I call hypocrite.

Lili

Wed 03/24/10 10:23 AM

I know! Why can’t she be honest and say, “I think I’m sooooooooo much better than the rest of my co-stars, why should I hang on for 18 months? After all, this show did give me my big break” If she was only doing it for her family, why does she have 5 movies in production?

Andy

Wed 03/24/10 11:35 AM

The point is she can take months off at a time after each movie to be with her family. Grey’s was an all year round thing.

Donna

Wed 03/24/10 12:04 PM

If Grey’s is a year long thing, why isn’t it on all year long?

Em

Wed 03/24/10 1:22 PM

Right? Like it’s so obviously NOT just because of her baby, because she’s been bitching and moaning about that show and contract for years now. Only now she has an excuse to leave.

dan

Wed 03/24/10 6:19 PM

If Grey’s was a year-round all time consuming gig she wouldn’t have been able to make the movies she did. Seems like she had a wee bit of time off. Honestly, I can’t believe that anyone thinks the real reason she pushed to get out of her contract was because she wanted more family time. I think it had more to do with twelve million dollar movie paychecks.

t3hdow

Thu 03/25/10 2:25 AM

To donna and dan
Most hour long dramas take an average of 10 months to finish a 22-episode season. Each episode takes a good week or two to finish wrapping up in production. There’s a summer break and a winter break that fills up the other two months (in June and December, I think), and this is usually when TV actors work for a feature film.
So yeah…working in a popular TV show on the networks will take away major actors for a good chunk of the year.

molly

Wed 03/24/10 10:25 AM

I cringed when I read that. The whole family angle is just “spin.” I think her people realized how people are so turned off by her (myself included) and now are trying make her seem more likeable.